Echo Chamber

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Rachel Maddow hit the nail on the head. She listed several draconian things that have unfolded in the first 115 days, or whatever we’re up to now, and asked, “Who voted for this?! Did anyone actually vote for this? Where is the constituency for these garbage executive orders and the detestable gutting of government services undertaken by DOGE?” Let’s add, What the hell is the purpose of it all, if not to render everything null and void and ineffectual?

What‘s so stunning is the apparent buy-in from congressional Republicans. We no longer have a functioning government, at least as this applies to the House and Senate. Democrats are at least beginning to fight back, but the Republicans don’t dare say “boo,” and by and large are at the beck and call of Trump. In the meantime, nothing substantive is getting done, except for a big, beautiful, and dumb tax bill that might have just enough arm twisting behind it to be passed into law.

It’s difficult to live with the idea that half of Congress is written off, that most Republicans are just along for the ride, are “onboard,” and choose not to see this disaster for what it is.

Flexibility

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Daily writing prompt
What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
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Being better about going with the flow, with changes in plans. I’ve always had trouble with that, though that wouldn’t be a small improvement. It’d be a major overhaul, maybe some sort of breakthrough.

A small improvement might be to make a conscious effort to refrain from always checking my iPad or phone. It’s become almost a reflex action.

The Emptiest of Promisers

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So, now the tariffs on China are suspended for 90 days, according to reports this morning, May 12.

Let’s cut to the chase. Trump’s MO since Day 1 has been an intentional and predictable instability, a scatter-brained and dismissive treatment of serious matters, an off-balance approach indicating incompetence on a grand scale, with maybe a touch of strategy.

The stable genius is often at a loss for words, mostly because he doesn’t know that many of them. He recycles the same batch. He’s also a vengeful player, a game show host and slimy business tycoon who has no business being where he is. This is what we get when a person bereft of the skills necessary to be POTUS is… POTUS.

What was gained by all this bluster and bad math? I’m beginning to think that Trump’s only skills are having a knack for bullshit, and surviving. Some will put these on a pedestal, even claim them to be superpowers…

Oh, please. If that’s all he’s got, then it’s not at all super. It’s downright pathetic, hilarious and laughable in a sad and tragic way. He’s President of the United States, for crying out loud. We should all be appalled and mad as hornets– that he carries the Football, and for a million other reasons.

One Emerges

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Daily writing prompt
Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.
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It’s difficult to pick one person. I grew up in a village, of sorts. It was a general vibe, a milieu. We were always getting together with various members of the extended family– on both sides. So, one time it might be an uncle or aunt or a cousin, another time it might be a grandparent or family friend who stood out as interesting or memorable for some reason.

Maybe it’s the dynamic of growing up in a neighborhood with a lot of kids our own age or a bit older. This group would often gather at our house and play baseball, or more likely whiffleball, because our yard wasn’t that big. But my Dad would often be in the midst of us, and maybe he’s the one who had the most positive impact on my life. He was truly young at heart, even when he was 85 and slowed by an aging body that was starting to let him down.

I’ve mentioned Mr. McGregor, my high school Spanish teacher, in a couple of previous posts. I remember him as being the best teacher I had in all the years of grade school, but I don’t know exactly what, if anything, he instilled in me. For the purposes of this prompt, it’s my Dad who comes to mind, who modeled certain traits and tendencies which, for better or worse, I have come to embrace or embody.

Ideals

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Daily writing prompt
What does freedom mean to you?
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It has evolved over time, as might be expected, as one grows older and maybe wiser. When I was young, I thought my country could do no wrong, and its leaders– almost exclusively men– were all upstanding citizens. As my world grew bigger, I realized that women were equally capable of both brilliance and stupendous ignorance. Scales fell and my view of America changed. The lens through which I viewed things became more finely tuned, equipped to see more layers in sharper focus. The blissful ignorance of my Boy Scout days gave way to an eye-opening reality check, a growing awareness of a more diverse canvas and palette of colors– along with a certain skepticism– probably the logical progression of moving from the relative shelter of a stable home life and on to college, and exposure to different people and ideas.

I grew up in the 1960s. There was a lot happening back then, and it’s been a cascade ever since– of turmoil, issues and causes, advancements of all sorts– in understandings of human nature, in creature comforts and technology and expectations and senses of entitlement. One thing that hasn’t changed is the annoyingly dependable supply of megalomaniacs and others who, for some reason, think they can rule the world, who spit on freedom and treat it as some quaint notion embraced by all the underlings.

Freedom isn’t everything, but it’s what we crave. It’s not a license to do or say whatever we feel like doing or saying. It is, rather, provision for finding our own path in life, our own voice. The right to call out ignorance and evil, even as there may be consequences for such honesty. Freedom is tempered by commitment to others and to the community and framework given us, in our case, by a collection of forward-thinking founders who risked the gallows or some other unpleasant end in order to lay the groundwork for a place where everyone– at least on paper– was entitled to certain inalienable rights.

They were also smart enough to realize that humans will be humans, and that the long arc of evolution moves slowly enough for many generations to be dealing with just enough misguided, self-involved lunatics to keep us on our toes.

Always off-balance

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This daily sinking, this everyday erosion of norms and civility, and the witnessing of vanishing rights—good governance has never seemed so mythical.

Partisan networks and social media fan the flames, poison public opinion, spread incendiary inaccuracies and exaggerations and outright lies. The country is trying to carry on with business as usual, but how long can we ignore this?

I more clearly see how the erosion unfolds—people ignore the warning signs, get overwhelmed and distracted, or simply don’t believe it could happen here. Every day Trump remains in office is another day in which he gets to hurl distractions and misdirection plays, another day in which he has the opportunity to harden and secure his position, neutralize more underpinnings, more forcefully ignore our grievances.

It’s wanton destruction, on a massive scale, before our eyes. Truly heartless, ruthless, cold, and calculated.

Did people really vote for this? Where is the chink in his armor?

New Tradition

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A pope from the states. There’s a first time for everything. I hope he’s as much of a thorn in Trump’s side as many are hoping he will be.

Imagine that—even the decision to elect a pope was colored by Donald Trump’s presence in the world. He’ll probably take some perverse pleasure in that. At first, I was thinking Trump had something to do with the choice, but in a heavy-handed way, not thinking that maybe the conclave itself was looking around and trying to address the evil incompetence.

We’ll see what difference Pope Leo the XIV makes. It all seems rather showy to me. Maybe they should consider updating the dress code, for starters. You’d think it might get burdensome walking around in flowing robes and a silly hat all day.

Still Purposeful

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Daily writing prompt
What is your career plan?
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My career plan is to enjoy retirement, hopefully being useful in the process. The untethered nature of it is what I like most, though at some point it becomes apparent that one can’t sit around all day reveling in the joy of not needing to be anywhere or answering to anyone. Besides, the “not answering to anyone” part isn’t real, anyway.

Having said that little piece, I’m not ruling out a return to some sort of part-time work. Just haven’t found the right thing yet.